Hello! My name is DanaRae Marigmen, I attend Fenwick High School and I’m the new Youth Rep for ACE in Chicago.

As an ACE Youth Rep and the voice of all ACE high schools in the Chicago area, I will be a role model, aid and voice of encouragement to everyone who is willing to make a change – a change for the essential preservation of our environment and the betterment of our lives, both locally and globally.

I will strive to motivate those who are still skeptical about our movement and help to communicate our goals to them. I aim to help them realize how climate heavily affects our lives, everyday.

I believe youth are the perfect candidates to be instruments to the public about this issue, and in turn, influence everyone around them.

Through guidance and motivation I believe we can lead a revolution to decrease waste, work towards energy efficiency, and enhance the health of everyone who is open to a greener diet of local and organic foods.

I would like to be a catalyst that starts the chain reaction of an environmental green revolution – one that it will continue endlessly like a domino effect! I envision a world that will make a transformation into an unimaginable ‘ Green Society’ with abundant resources, rich in biodiversity.

On a personal level, I’ m huge enthusiast for fashion, food and music. I especially love eating customized veggie pizza! One of my favorite green project ideas is Project Greenway. It’s a project that incorporates student-made green fashion that reveals itself to the community through a citywide student-led fashion show. The project will incorporate recycled and vintage fashion, and a lot of creativity. If we use media properly, this project could be the catalyst for a movement.

I’m also a firm believer that everyone deserves equal environmental treatment-regardless of economic status or ethnic background. Whether one lives in a developing country or an upscale suburb, we should all share the same benefits of having clean air, resources, and a healthy lifestyle. No one should suffer from drinking heavily contaminated water, breathing in toxic air, or being uninformed about the hazardous health effects of pollution and carbon dioxide. No one should have to suffer, living in a ‘poisoned’ area. We should all share the blessing of being in a secure home, and I want to work towards making that happen.

Regarding my own highs school, I feel like our environmental club members are very enthusiastic and committed in our goals to save the environment and utilize tools to preserve our community. We have a diverse variety of people in our group including those who have: talents in arts and creativity, skills in logistics and planning, communicators that act as liaisons to our school. Our goal is to enhance our school and broaden the knowledge of the climate change to the rest of the students in the school body.

I’m proud to say that Fenwick is a school that is fully aware of the current climate situation and we’ ve opted to make solutions. Some people are still naïve or unaware of the effects of climate change, and need to be informed. That is a goal that inspires us to work hard, so we may warn our school of the dangers associated with climate change and help them join a good cause.

I’m happy to be on-board with ACE – being the voice of students throughout the area that are interested in combating this issue!

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.” -Chinese Proverb